Tenants face rush for properties

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People battling to rent a home currently have less than three weeks to secure the property they want.

Demand for renting has rocketed in the last year, as many people have shied away from the mortgage market, put off by high deposits or uncertain employment prospects.

Such is the demand for rented homes at the moment, the cost of renting increased in the early months of 2011, despite it usually being a period where rent prices hit a lull.

The rush for rented home has seen the amount of time landlords are without tenants in their properties fall to just 2.8 weeks, the shortest amount of time in two years, research by Paragon shows.

Almost half of landlords experience periods where their properties are not being rented, known as void periods, allowing them to carry out essential maintenance and improvement before new tenants move in.

According to Paragon's research, nearly half of landlords (45%) experience a void period - the length of time a property is without a tenant - of less than two weeks a year, with 34% experiencing voids of between two and four weeks.

"Many people choose private rented accommodation as a lifestyle choice because it gives them flexibility and convenience," said Nigel Terrington, group chief executive of Paragon.

"But private rented property also offers people an attractive alternative to house purchase, which remains out of reach for many, and renting has grown significantly over the past 12 months.

"We would expect the average void period to remain low during 2011 as a growing number of tenants compete for property in the private rented sector."